Ada Pembroke, MFA
Ada Pembroke is a writer and astrologer from Portland, Oregon. She is the founder of the Narrative Astrology Lab and author of The Gods of Time Are Dead.
She teaches workshops that combine her love of astrology and storytelling.
Education
Astrology Mentorship, Paul Richard
Apprenticeship Program, Steven Forrest
Creative Writing (MFA), Goddard College
English Language and Literature (BA), Southern New Hampshire University
Upcoming Workshops
Lecture Recordings
The first Transit Lab on Jupiter and the South Node in Leo. We explored past Leo transits and told stories about times when we’ve needed to have faith that our people are out there.
Tango takes up Ada’s challenge to summarize alchemy in 10 minutes, and Ada talks about the astrology of Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, and the founding of Anthropic (creators of Claude).
The Creation that Speaks: The Astrology of Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, and Anthropic (blog post of Ada’s talk)
In Part 10 of Life with Uranus, we looked at the group’s upcoming Uranus transits in context: a rare mini triangle of Uranus, Sedna, Neptune, and Pluto and the approaching end of the Pluto-Neptune sextile. We explored what it meant that Jung and Freud did their defining work during their Uranus oppositions… and what it might mean that we are being asked to close that chapter.
For the second month in a row, Uranus is the problem child at Problem-solving Lab. We talked about what Uranus in Gemini frustration looks like (and why it currently looks suspiciously like Mercury retrograde) and tips for Uranus transits.
In Part 9 of Life with Uranus, we finally arrived at the Uranus opposition: astrologer-speak for the midlife crisis. We heard Uranus opposition stories and talked Austin Kleon's description of midlife as the moment when "tamped-down parts of yourself come first trickling, then bursting up." We talked about the connections between Uranus and Chiron, prompting Puzzlie's observation that Chiron shows the wounds Uranus leaves behind.
In this inaugural Problem-Solving Lab, we gathered to share what's coming up for us as Uranus moves into Gemini. We talked through the upcoming Jupiter–Chiron–Pluto T-square and what it means that Scorpio is the missing leg, worked with the east/west hemisphere distinction for understanding fate versus free will in Uranus transits, and closed with a reading of the Orphic Hymn to Heaven for collective remediation.
In this workshop, we explore the art of making friends with difficult planets. We went through a simple test to determine which of your planets need help, and we shared tips for working with sun and Saturn challenges. This workshop builds on concepts from Ada’s lecture on Planetary Remediation from 2021.
In this workshop, we took took a break from our structured discussion of lifecycle transits and reflected on our experience of Uranus lifecycle transits. We talked about what Uranus transits have in common and heard stories from people with Uranus in Cancer, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, and Aquarius.
Pluto is commonly known as the Lord of the Underworld, but he was also known by another name in the ancient world: Lord of Buried Treasure. In this workshop, we talk about Pluto signs (especially Scorpio and Sagittarius) and houses, and then we consider what it might mean that our Pluto placements hold hidden promise.
Your Saturn return is in the rear view mirror, and you’re just starting to understand what it meant. Enter the strange territory of the first Uranus Quincunx. In this workshop, we talk about the astrological significance of being 35 and how Uranus is trying to help you prepare for your Uranus opposition.
As you grow and mature, your sense of yourself changes. Those changes are reflected in your progressed sun.
Working with your progressed sun can help you become conscious of the way that your sense of yourself has changed and expand your personal narrative.
28 years old. It’s not an age we talk about much, but the late-20s are a very busy time astrologically. In this workshop, we focus on one of those late-20s transits: the first Uranus Trine. How is it trying to help you face mid-life with joy… and prepare for your all-important Saturn return?
In this introductory workshop, we talk about the basics of progressions and solar arcs. What are they technically? What do they mean? And what kinds of challenges can you meet when you start to work with them?
If you're familiar with the tools of traditional astrology, you're probably know the basics of essential dignity--rulership, exaltation, detriment, and fall. But what happens when a planet is none of those things, when it is "peregrine?" Peregrine planets are controversial in astrology land. Some say peregrine means nothing. Others say it's everything. Let's look at the peregrine planets in our charts and see what our experiences have to say.
Which of my planets are peregrine?
Essential Dignities and Debilities with Charles Obert, Astrology Podcast
We’re jumping in a time machine and traveling backward to look at Uranus over your life so far. What has the eccentric planet of rebels and outlaws been trying to teach you? And what can you do with that… right now? In this workshop, we talk about sextiles. What did rebellion look like for you when you were a teenager?
In part 3 of this series, we started talking about lifecycle transits (the Uranus seasons that everyone experiences every 7 years or so) with a particular focus on the semi-sextile that first introduces us to our difference from the tribe at 7 years old.
Why does astrology have a planet of rebellion? What need is Uranus trying to serve for the collective? In this workshop, we talk about how rebellion turns into individuation and how that has played out in our lives.
Uranus is the planet of rebellion. It tells the story of how you participate in the classic conflict "person against society." Because you and your peers share a Uranus sign, there are similarities in how you rebel. In this workshop we discuss, Uranus signs' style of rebellion and how that shows up on our life stories.
The Rockstar. The King. The Clown. The Child. Leo is a cuddly bundle of narcissism, right? Not when it’s at its best! What does it mean to shine without blinding? How can Leo help us light up the world? That is what we explore in this talk.
In this Transit Lab, we do a deep dive on two member’s charts and look at Venus’s role in handling stress.
The Healer, Caretaker, Dreamweaver, and the Invisible Person. These archetypes are clues to Cancer’s sacred calling and its unexpected shadow side. What does it mean for Cancer to be at its best, and how do we bring that best out in ourselves.?That is what we explore in this talk.
The Jupiter-Saturn Square of 2025 continues the story that began with Jupiter and Saturn's conjunction in 2020. In this Transit Lab, we talk about what has changed in our lives since 2020 and how the Jupiter-Saturn square in Cancer and Aries is inviting us to create safe spaces and fight for what we believe in.
In this Transit Lab, we talked about Saturn transits. What do they have in common with studying in a wizard academy (not Harry Potter)? What did we learn from Saturn in Pisces? How is Saturn’s recent Aries ingress inviting us to level up? And what can we learn from the Saturn in Aries generation that has been living with this placement their whole lives?
The teacher, the journalist, the storyteller, and the witness. These are all faces of Gemini, clues to the sacred calling under the chatterbox stereotypes of this sign. What does it mean for Gemini to be at its best, and how do we bring that best out in ourselves? That is what we explore in this talk.
In this Transit Lab, we talked about what Venus in Aries is teaching us about boundaries, mending fences, and clearing out resentments in our relationships.
What is your natural habitat? Where in your life are you learning how to find inner peace? How do you find the right path in life? Taurus has answers to all these questions, and in this workshop we talk about how to listen.
On the eve of the Pisces eclipse, we worked with member's charts and talked about Chiron and Ceres transits and how to work proactively with planets square the nodes.
Transcript